NATO

From June 24 to 25, heads of state and government gathered at the NATO Summit in The Hague, where they agreed on a new commitment to spend 5 percent of gross domestic product on defense by 2035. Check out our commentary, analysis, and events covering the convening, courtesy of our experts.

TRACKING NATO SPENDING


Trackers and Data Visualizations

Jun 20, 2025

NATO Defense Spending Tracker

By
Kristen Taylor, Julia Salabert

The Transatlantic Security Initiative’s NATO defense spending tracker delves into data and figures to analyze current defense spending trends.

Europe & Eurasia
NATO

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FEATURED EVENTS

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Programs and initiatives

The Transatlantic Security Initiative, in the Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security, shapes and influences the debate on the greatest security challenges facing the North Atlantic Alliance and its key partners.

Content

New Atlanticist

Apr 18, 2012

Memo to NATO: Stay Out of Syrian Conflict

By Joshua Foust

Despite this weekend’s unanimous UN Security Council vote, which authorized a team of observers to Syria to monitor the tentative ceasefire there, there remain many questions about what can actually be done to stop the fighting. Conventional wisdom, prior to Saturday, seemed to resign the international community to doing very little about the bloodshed, thanks to […]

NATO Security & Defense

New Atlanticist

Apr 16, 2012

Cheapening NATO’s Security Promise Weakens It

By James Joyner

After an incident last week in which two Syrians were killed by Assad regime forces while attempting to flee to safety in Turkey, Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan declared that “NATO has a responsibility to protect Turkish borders.”

Afghanistan NATO

Event Recap

Apr 12, 2012

GLOBSEC 2012 Bratislava Security Forum

By Jason Harmala

As part of the Atlantic Council’s mission to foster the next generation of transatlantic leadership, the Council hosted its Young Atlanticist delegates from Europe and partner countries at the 2012 GLOBSEC conference. Organized by the Slovak Atlantic Commission, GLOBSEC is the largest NATO-related event in Central Europe, which brought together more than 500 key stakeholders […]

NATO Security & Defense

New Atlanticist

Apr 11, 2012

Will We Need NATO After Afghanistan?

By Stanley Sloan

Despite the Obama administration’s re-focusing US security commitments on Asia, we will need NATO after Afghanistan. Some historical perspective might help.  When the Clinton Administration took office, it, too, sought to reorient American foreign policy toward Asia.  It was the economy, stupid, and the future of American economic interests was to be found on the […]

Afghanistan NATO

New Atlanticist

Apr 10, 2012

Bringing Turkey and Russia Closer to the European Neighborhood Policy

By Kristina Mikulova

As NATO and the EU have shelved enlargement – the juiciest “carrot” motivating reform in aspirant countries – it is even more crucial for the transatlantic community to refine existing institutional frameworks for engagement in order to prevent reform inertia – or worse – backsliding.

European Union International Organizations

NATOSource

Apr 5, 2012

Clinton outlines 3 primary NATO summit goals

By the AP

From the AP:  Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton outlined the goals of the upcoming NATO Summit during a speech in Virginia on Tuesday, saying the alliance would focus on defining the next phase of transition in Afghanistan.

NATO Security & Defense

New Atlanticist

Apr 5, 2012

Who Will Bear the Cost of NATO’s Exit from Afghanistan? Ask Afghan Women

By Ahmad Waheed Andrea Barbara Baumann and Geety Samadi

In the run-up to NATO’s 2012 Chicago summit, Alliance members look ever more determined to leave Afghanistan sooner rather than later. In spite of the flurry of media reports, recent security incidents involving members of both the Afghan and the American security forces can be considered tragic exceptions. They nevertheless fuel the argument that little […]

Afghanistan NATO

New Atlanticist

Apr 4, 2012

Scowcroft: NATO Future as UN Security Force

By James Joyner

General Brent Scowcroft argues that NATO’s Libya intervention may point to the future of the military alliance as the go-to enforcer of UN Security Council resolutions.

International Organizations Libya

NATOSource

Apr 4, 2012

Clinton to NATO conference: ‘We are now in a battle for the future’

By the Department of State

From the Department of State:  Excerpts from remarks by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to the World Affairs Council 2012 NATO Conference

Drones NATO

NATOSource

Apr 4, 2012

Clinton: ACT makes ‘NATO more resilient and more innovative’

By the Department of State

From the Department of State: Excerpts from remarks by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to NATO Allied Commander Transformation staff members

NATO Security & Defense

Experts